White Space Offers A Tremendous Opportunity

According to a Microsoft statement, use of white space spectrum "could enable many technological advances and bring consumer benefits, including the greatest improvement in Internet access since the advent of Wi-Fi."

A coalition of tech companies is promising a new generation of wireless offerings and faster, cheaper Internet services if the government frees up chunks of radio-wave spectrum being abandoned in the transition to digital TV.

After nearly a year of research, the FCC is set to define how wireless networks and devices can tap into the spectrum without messing with TV signals and other communication systems that use nearby frequencies.

The spectrum has been largely unused for decades; it's the static that appears when clicking from channels 2 through 52 on old-fashioned over-the-air TV sets.

"Opening up unused TV spectrum might be one of our best remaining chances to address the digital divide by creating affordable and truly universal broadband wireless coverage in the U.S.," A Google petition states.